Chicago
POPULATION SERVED
Homeless youth / At Risk Youth / Low income Housing Residents / Ages 5 – 25 / Latino, African, African American
WHAT DO YOU PLAY FOR?
Independence
WHY DO YOU PLAY FOR IT?
Each player is seeking their own form of independence, with self determination from freedom of aid. We in Chicago believe this can be accomplished through hard work, and an organized plan. Through our rigorous and honest training, we take our kids off the streets and into schools to find better opportunities and to discover what each participant can truly accomplish, independence.
Street Soccer USA’s Street Soccer Chicago program is a city wide soccer for social change initiative designed to be inclusive of homeless youth and their families. Youth participants will be ages 6-18, with an emphasis on 14-18 year olds in year one. Also in the year one pilot we will focus on the development as the basis for what will become a city wide league of programs. The programs which will launch in spring and continue into the summer, Fall and Winter will include quarterly festivals and a large Street Soccer Chicago fest featuring our participants and the community at large. Currently, SSCHI is involved with 5 different shelters in the Humboldt Park and West Loop area as well as one high school. Our scale is limited due to our resources currently, but with access to more funds we can reach further into neighborhoods and children who are in need of our initiative.
SSCHI is in the process of developing a new program, and needs your help! Currently we are developing a program with the “back of the yards” community building a program for 300 youth, ages 9 to 13 developing life and soccer skills for all participants. The community leaders and youth in the area have reached out to us to start a soccer program in Davis Square Park (in the “back of the yards” neighborhood). Davis Square Park was closed two years ago to any competitive or recreational sports due to gun violence. Currently we (Otto, community leaders, and former players) have researched and reached a total of 100 families in the area, totaling close to 150 kids ages 8-13. We intend to start a program there beginning in May with Thursdays and Saturdays being the recreational days ending in October.
ABOUT
Locations
La Casa Norte
Mercy Homes
El Recate
La Posada
Casa Central
Staff
Otto Rodriguez
otto@streetsoccerusa.org
LEARN MORE
In honor of World Refugee Day (WRD), eight teams of migrants representing countries around the world will compete in a soccer tournament in Chicago on Saturday. Kate Chappell with NBC Chicago has the story.
Otto Rodriguez, Street Soccer USA – Chicago Program Manager, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the good work that his organization does for the homeless. With many migrants and refugees coming in from Texas, they are putting together the Refugee World Cup to help many of them feel welcome in Chicago.
Bridging the gap: Chicago sports program unites migrants and residents. The “Sunday Sports” sessions are organized by two childhood friends who empathized with migrants that are new to Chicago.
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